Salmon River Update 13 January 2016
What will the Salmon River have in store for us in 2016? This New Year has started with a broad range of weather conditions.
The first weekend on the river brought heavy snow fall, and the next unseasonably warm temperatures. Overall, a mild winter continues on the Salmon River. Temperature fluctuations change the water level daily due to new snow, melting snow, and rain! To start the year, the river ran close to 2000 CFS and dropped to 750 CFS by January 9th. With the recent mix of melt and rain, it has rise back up to 1110 CFS. How has this affected river fishing conditions?
First, the number of fishermen on the river are a direct result of current weather conditions. The few nice days we have had, the river has had a decent amount of Steelhead fisherman. On the lesser days, the river has been fairly empty. The Douglaston Salmon Run has had some good days since the first of the year, evidenced by steelhead still moving into the river from Lake Ontario. Since the water level drops, DSR guests have been reporting 3+ hook-ups.
The upriver fishing conditions have been slow in the major pools, with no more than two or three cars in the parking lots. There has been some activity in the Lower Fly Zone since the water levels have dropped. Anglers have had success picking up a Steelhead or two when fishing the Lower Fly. Drift boat captains continue to report some Steelhead from Altmar through Pineville to the 2A Bridge.